The Park City Police Department last week conducted a heavy round of patrols in the southern reaches of Old Town, stopping drivers for a variety of suspected violations.
Some of the cases were logged in the area of the intersection of Marsac Avenue and Hillside Avenue, long known for stop sign and turning violations. There have been complaints for years at the location, as people who live on streets like Hillside Avenue, Daly Avenue, King Road and the southern section of Main Street became dismayed with the amount of traffic, including taxis, shuttles and ridesharing firms. City Hall over time took some steps, such as turning restrictions, in an effort to address the issues with mixed results.
The patrols were especially notable on April 24, a Monday. The Police Department stopped a series of drivers starting in the morning and extending into the middle of the afternoon. There were also individuals stops scattered throughout other periods. The police officers in many cases issued warnings and it was not clear from the logs how many of the stops resulted in a ticket.
The cases included suspected speeding turning violations and stop sign violations.
Some of the cases included:
• on April 24 at 1:10 p.m., a police officer stopped a driver after watching the vehicle fail to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Marsac Avenue and Hillside Avenue. The officer issued a written warning.
• on April 24 at 11:52 a.m., a police officer pulled over a driver at a speed of 35 mph in a location where the posted speed limit is 25 mph. The driver received a written warning.
• on April 24 at 11:23 a.m., a police officer stopped a driver in the area of Marsac Avenue and Chambers Avenue, indicating the vehicle was traveling at 36 mph in a location where the posted speed limit is 25 mph. The officer issued a written warning.
• on April 24 at 12:59 p.m., a n officer pulled over a vehicle at the intersection of Marsac Avenue and Hillside Avenue, indicating the driver made a left turn in a location where they are prohibited.
At a little before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26 an officer reported a patrol of the Marsac Avenue-Hillside Avenue intersection. Two violations of a left-turn restriction, two speeding cases and five incidents of drivers not stopping at a stop sign were generated from the patrol, the police said.
Police officers, meanwhile, also were in the area at times when there were just several violations or there were none. An officer at 7:55 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25 reported no violations at the Marsac Avenue-Hillside Avenue intersection. At 4:51 p.m. that day, an officer indicated there were no violations of a left-turn restriction at the Marsac Avenue-Hillside Avenue intersection during the 25 minutes the officer monitored the location.
Traffic has for decades been one of the chief concerns in Park City, and the patrols in Old Town over the years have been especially noteworthy. The traffic in the neighborhood includes visitors, residents, ride-sharing drivers and Main Street employees. People who live in Old Town worry about the spillover of traffic from the Main Street core to the surrounding residential streets.